DMC is becoming the new Josh Smith.
I love his talent, but agree with others that his salary would be too difficult to match...and I would much rather have Horford than Cousins. Brown/Tatum are a definite no-go.
DMC is immeasurably more talented than Smith. Not a good comp. Smith was an elite athlete but not skilled at much of anything other than leaping and running.
Cousins is definitely talented.
The question should be about how worried we would be if Cleveland got him? If the answer is very, we should try to get him. He's no doubt an impact player, however volatile he may be. I know we lost veteran leadership, but Horford is still here. Marcus (although younger), has harnessed his attitude into a positive. Hayward will bring leadership. And I hope Kyrie is ready to walk the walk.
That's actually not rue at all.
Josh Smith's issues were pretty much all related to attitude. He was actually a very skilled player - not nearly as much as Cousins, but very skilled all the same.
At 6'9" he could handle and pass the ball like a guard, had elite defensive talent, was a Millsap-level rebounder, and was actually a pretty skilled post player who was a very effective finisher around the basket. When his head was in it, he was pretty much a walking triple double.
Problems with Smith were numerous.
Firstly, he had a mediocre outside shot that he fell madly, deeply in love with - kinda like our own very own Marcus Smart. Secondly, he was known for being pretty lazy, not having a particularly great motor, and just having a generally poor attitude and work ethic.
The above flaws were only further exaggerated by the fact that through most of his career, he played on teams who made pretty poor use of his talents. When he played the PF spot, and played close to the basket, he was actually very effective. He shot solid percentages, defended very well, rebounded well, and was generally pretty productive. When he was played at the SF position and stuck at the perimeter, he tended to fall in love with his not-so-great jumper which tended to turn him into a substantial offensive liability - and everything else went downhill along with it.
Sadly, more often then not teams were putting him in that position - a perfect example being Detroit, with that infamously horrible Drummond/Monroe/Smith frontcourt that made absolutely no sense to anybody with half a basketball brain
Josh Smith definitely had the talent to be an All-Star if he played his cards right. He probably would have been more fringe all-star (i.e. Al Horford) then perennial All-star, but he could have been an All-Star none the less.
Demarcus Cousins is a different beast altogether. He's not just an "All-Star" calibre talent - he is an "All-Time Great" calibre talent. I'm not at all joking when I say that I believe Demarcus Cousins is the most talented big man in this league - more talented then Porzingis, Anthony Davis or Karl-Anthony Towns and even Embiid. I don't think I've ever known of a 6'11" / 270 pound big man who can dominate the post, shoot from midrange, shoot from three, handle the ball, pass the ball, defend at a high level and dominate the boards. That's just crazy talent.
Cousins' personality is undoubtedly a concern, and his lack of team success over the years is also a red flag - but I can't help but give him the passes until the day that he actually gets a chance to play on a quality NBA team. So far I think that last season's Kings (Rondo/RGay/Cousins) is the most talented team he's ever played, and lets be honest - that team isn't making the playoffs this Western Conference. I still feel that the thing Cousins wants above all else is to win - I believe that fuels his fire, and I believe his complete lack of "Ws" over the years has just led to that frustration constantly building. I do feel he could probably turn things around a lot personality wise if he found himself in a winning situation where it's not always "me busting my butt and dominating every night while the bunch of scrubs I'm playing with do nothing and we get killed by 20 anyway".
This year will be a key for me. This Pelican's roster is far from elite - but it's certainly solid. With Rondo, Holiday, Davis and Cousins that is a legitimately talented roster that should see SOME degree of success. If they start winning games and we find that the team is in the race for a playoff spot, then I'd like to see how Cousins reacts to that - will he still throw his constant tantrums or will he start to calm down?
The part that I feel sad for him about, is that I feel like if the Pelicans
do play well, get themselves in a playoffs spot, and Cousins starts to calm down - then people are going to just throw all of the credit and praise on Anthony Davis (as the more loved son) while Cousins will get neglected and ignoreds, as he ultimately has his entire career.
As for the OP's question - yes. I would trade just about anybody we have fro Cousins. I would give up Horford for Cousins any time, any day, anywhere. I wouldn't include Kyrie of Hayward. amd I'd try to avoid throwing Tatum in to the deal if possible - aside from that I would tell them to take Horford and pick whatever asset they want to go with him (Brown, Lakers pick, Smart - whatever they want).
If they really pushed for Horford and Tatum, then I'd probably do that too - but I am extremely high on Tatum and really don't want to trade him.
A core of Kyrie, Hayward and Cousins would be dominant beyond words. That team, if surrounded with the right support players, could be every bit as dominant as the Warriors are right now. And going up against the Warriors would be a lot of fun because Kyrie would go toe-to-toe with Steph, Hayward would go toe-to-tow with Klay...we wouldn't really have an answer for Durant, but they also wouldn't have an answer for Cousins. I'd LOVE to see Draymond Green work up the courage to attempt his dirty ball-kicking antics on Cousins - he'd most likely end up lying on the floor after losing the use of multiple body parts.
As much as his attitude can be an issue, one of my biggest concerns with this team right now is our completely lack of toughness and attitude. The three highest profile players on this team are all soft as cotton balls. I would actually welcome Demarcus Cousins to come to Boston and to bring his very best Perkins-scowl along with him.
As a team with championship aspirations, I feel like you HAVE to have an enforcer on your team. The Bulls had Rodman/Oakley, the Warriors have Green, the 08 Celtics had Garnett and Perkins, the Lebron Heat had Wade and Battier...you have to have that toughness. We don't have that.